Update - next UK youth strikers protest 12 April

With an estimated 1.4 million turnout in over 100 countries, the protests swept across the globe - from Australia, where 150,000 defied a government in thrall to coal, across Asia, Africa and to Europe, where city squares and streets were packed in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, in the UK (the video below shows the passion, commitment and energy at the London protest) and on to North and South America.

Video below from London protest:

With the legal challenge to Heathrow's third runway still ongoing, and Gatwick wanting to expand its operations by stealth, other airports are also eyeing up increased profits without regard to climate damage.

The latest is Bristol.

Bristol airport currently has 8 million passengers a year. It is already planning to increase to 10 million and the current planning application is aiming to increase further, to 12 million by 2026. Although not part of the current application they are clear that eventually, they would like to increase to 20 million passengers every year.

By increasing from 8 to 12 million passengers, the figures they have submitted show the airport's 'operational emissions' increasing by two-thirds, from 945ktCO2/year in 2017 to 1,568ktCO2/year in 2026.

Extraordinarily, this is more than the total CO2 emitted from all other transport, homes, and industry in North Somerset local authority in 2016 (1,211ktCO2) and almost as much as the 1,633kt from the City of Bristol (source).

However, the Environmental Statement for the planning application describes these emissions as 'not significant'. 

The deadline to ask the council to reject planning permission for expansion is Saturday 26 January.

If you sign the 38 Degrees petition, it then takes you automatically to a link to submit an objection to the planning application. You can also comment here (search for 18/P/5118/OUT, then click 'Make a Comment').

Across North American, First Nations and indigenous peoples have stood in the frontline against fossil fuel development, protecting land, water and climate. The Wet'suwet'en of British Columbia have been blocking TransCanada construction of a fracked gas pipeline across their unceded territories. On Monday 7th January, heavily armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police breached the Gidimt’en clan checkpoint set up to keep pipeline workers out of protected territory, using violence and arresting 14 protectors. TransCanada Corporation are planning to build the $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink mega pipeline to export fracked gas, but hereditary leaders of all five clans of the Wet'suwet'en maintain they have no right to do so on their lands without free, prior and informed consent.

The Unist’ot’en camp and healing centre have been on that site since 2010, originally in resistance to the Enbridge tar sands pipeline. Following the force used on peaceful protesters at the checkpoint,  the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs have agreed to open the gates to protect their people from injury or death. They remain determined that the pipeline will not be built and that their land rights will be confirmed in Canada's courts. Full statement

Over 60 solidarity protests have taken place in Canada and around the world (see Facebook for videos and pictures). Below, we took the message of solidarity to the Canadian High Commission, that the world is watching.